S&W Files Patent for Unique Stevia Variety for Commercial Production

FIVE POINTS, Calif., Dec. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- S&W Seed Company (Nasdaq: SANW) today announced it has filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for stevia plant variety "SW107."  Variety SW107 exhibits increased concentrations of Reb-A sweetener, higher leaf mass production and an improved taste profile that has little or no aftertaste. SW107 has been bred to address commercial processing markets in North America, South America, and other regions of the world that have climates suitable for it.

Companies producing consumer food products, as well as ingredient manufacturers, recognize the value of stevia as an all-natural sweetener in beverage, dairy, baking and snack products. Stevia's health benefits include zero calories and minimal glycemic impact and stability when heated. Since the primary sweetener used in stevia-based products, Reb A, comes 100% from agricultural sources, the Company believes that improved stevia varieties, like SW107, with increased yield and Reb A content will be very desirable commercially. 

The Company believes SW107 is well qualified to be successful in the commercial market. SW107 has a number of differentiating factors, including enhanced leaf yield, Reb-A output, and taste profile, as well as plant vigor that includes superior overwintering and later flowering attributes compared with the majority of the plant population from which the line was derived. In field trials throughout the western United States, SW107 yielded approximately 40% more leaf, 60% more Reb-A content, and more than a 100% increase in the Reb-A to stevioside ratio, as compared to test samples from stevia varieties now in mainstream production. S&W believes these results, coupled with an improved aftertaste profile, mean that SW107 will be economically attractive to stevia farmers and to the commercial volume stevia processing community.  With the filing of this patent application, the Company will begin seeking agreements with consumer products companies, ingredient manufacturers and stevia mass processors. 

Mark Grewal, chief executive officer of S&W Seed Company, commented, "This patent application marks a significant milestone in our stevia development program. With the huge growth in demand for stevia in the last five years since we entered the industry, food manufacturers and processors have expressed a desire for reliable sources of stevia leaf production outside of China. Due to the higher leaf mass of SW107, which adds to yield, the high Reb-A percentage, and its improved taste and plant vigor characteristics, we believe SW107 addresses many of the economic challenges that farmers and producers in North and South America have faced to date."

Variety SW107 was classically bred from germplasm that is proprietary to S&W's stevia program that first commenced in 2009 under the direction of Dr. Clint Shock, who is an internationally recognized expert on stevia. S&W's stevia research and development team has crossed hundreds of lines of stevia plants, many of which were collected over many years, with a goal of developing stevia varieties that have unique properties for commercialization. The Company is optimistic that SW107 will be followed by other promising varieties.  S&W's research and development team hopes to develop other new varieties that have distinctly different sets of plant attributes and can address other market needs.  SW107 initially is targeted at North and South America, where stevia plant production has been somewhat limited. 

To date, stevia production and extraction has largely been based in China and, to a lesser extent, South America. SW107 initially is targeted to be produced in North America and South America, where there have been insignificant commercial quantities grown due to farming economics. S&W believes SW107 will facilitate the growth of stevia in mass commercial quantities in these regions due to its high plant productivity (yield) and enhanced levels of Reb-A to extract.

About S&W Seed Company
Founded in 1980, S&W Seed Company is a global agricultural company, headquartered in the Central Valley of California. The company is the largest producer of non-dormant alfalfa seed varieties in the world, with production operations in the San Joaquin and Imperial Valleys of California, as well as in South Australia. The company has worldwide sales and distribution through both a direct sales force as well as dealer-distributors.  The company's proprietary varieties are designed to meet the shifting needs of farmers that require high performance in poor and highly saline soil conditions and have been verified over decades of university-sponsored trials.  Additionally, the company is utilizing its research and breeding expertise to develop and produce U.S.-based stevia leaf.  Stevia is an all-natural, zero calorie sweetener for the food and beverage industry. For more information, please visit www.swseedco.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may," "future," "plan" or "planned," "will" or "should," "expected," "anticipates," "draft," "eventually" or "projected." You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and other risks identified in the Company's 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014, and other filings made by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE S&W Seed Company

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